Lakshmi.. Sab aapki Maaya..

Let me start this by praying to Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of money and richness. The number of people who are becoming devotee of Lakshmi is increasing at a very huge rate. Yes, the demand and desire for money is increasing like anything. Be it in any way, people want to make money. Is it the influence of Kalyug or is it because everyone is loosing their basic values?? No, I don’t have an answer for it.
Fed up by seeing all these, I decided to go to temple and pray and calm my mind. Rather than going to a temple where Laksmi sits and complaining about money, I thought I will go to a Siva temple and pray for that. It was a temple in Ernakulam. I told all my problems to him and prayed to him that I get a job and lots of Laksmi(money) come to me[probably, effect of Kalyug, I also wanted money].


Everything was over and we were waiting for the prasadam. I was waiting for chandanam that they give. I had a habit of collecting and taking it to home so that I can put it on my forehead, every time I go to college. The poojaris gave a pinch of chandanam. I was very sad seeing the amount. I didn’t get any flowers. But my friend Hari was little richer than me. He gave poojari Rs.2. I was surprised to see that he was given some flowers and bit more chandanam. I looked around to see if there is any board which says that you have to pay Rs.2 to get the actual prasadam. Then something happened which was better than this. Aswin, another friend of mine, who was very rich then, gave Rs.10 to the poojari. Then I saw the prasadam coming in a banana leaf, which had lots of flowers, chandanam and my favorite unniyappam.. I thought, Lakshmi’s effect has started coming in siva temple also. “Devi Laksmi, sab aapki maaya..”.


Now I have started working and have started making money. Mere paas bhi Lakshmi aane lagi hai.. I am a person who loves going to temple. So for one of my holidays, me and my brother went to another temple. It was a huge queue to enter the temple. We could just see the deity’s prathishta and we were pushed out. Its told that you have to suffer a lot to see the god. I thought, in Kalyug, standing in queue for hours and getting pushed might be similar to that suffering and seeing god finally would be the reward for the suffering, a simulation of total life.

Again it was the time of prasadam. My brother and I went to that place. It was written in bold letters that receipt is required for the prasadam. Then the experience of Shiva temple came to my mind. Sometimes the effect of Lakshmi would have come here also. I will just try out. I took Rs.10 from my purse and gave it. No receipt and bills were asked for, I got the prasadam directly and easily. But my poor brother showed his hands there and just got the blessings from poojari ( no idea if it was blessings or words like “Ek bhi paisa nahin laaya, phir haath kyun faila rahi hain”). Again “Lakshmi Devi, sab aapki maaya”.

As a child, my immunity power was a bit less. I was always getting diseases. And as I have three very devotional ladies in my life (my mother and two of my grand mothers), I have many offerings to god, to complete. Fortunately, those offerings are not easy also. Since I am also a bit afraid of god, I don’t compromise on these offerings. So to just start one offering which was 21 days of bhajan in a temple, I was off for a one week holiday. I thought I will complete it in installments. I had to be in temple from morning to evening and eat the food that I get from there. It was the peak time and numbers of devotees coming were too much. The mini simulation of life had started. I was in temple for less time and in queue for more time. I thought, god is everywhere, so I will do my prayers in queue itself. But every time I reach near the prathishta, I see some people who directly enter to the temple without any queue. I thought probably they would be some privileged people or VIPs. I was a bit confused whether here also “Laksmi teri maaya” had started. But I could not confirm it then as I was pushed from behind and the queue had to move.
Majority time of my day went in queue to see the god and a bigger queue for food. All the people in that place, if there is a strike or some other problems comes there for food.


Now its night. I was sitting and reading bhagavatham, a book that I bought from there. I then saw many people, taking long stick to light the lamps surrounding the temple. I was very excited. I thought, finally, I can do something for god. I can light the lamps in his temple. I also went. The person coordinating this gave me a lighted stick and asked me also to join. I was very happy and did that. It was very hot, but I loved doing it. I went completely around the temple and lit the lamps. This was the last thing of the day. It was called Sheeveli. Then I would leave preparing to stand in queue next day. The routine in the night continued for three days. Third day, the person who used to give me the sticks to light the lamp called me and told that I have to give some money to that person (Amount not specified). I was a bit sad. Then understood that the effect has come to that temple also. The privileged people going into the temple without queue became privileged because of money and nothing else. The privilege level that you have increases in direct proportion with the money that flows from you hand to the devaswom peoples pocket.


These things happening were not at all right. Are the people standing in the queue fools to stand there and watch these things? Are the people who stand for long hours and get the receipt fools to see someone directly giving money and taking prasadam? I was thinking, at least in a place where it is told that god exists, people should not do it. Then I heard in a preaching that there are different types of Bhakthi. One among them was rajaswa bhakthi. Example for that is a person who tells, “You are now in front of god, please don’t use bad words.” Then as I mentioned, it should not be done just in temple but it should not be done in any other place. Money is important, but there are right ways to earn it. If people believe in something that is told in budhism, which is “We do not take anything from this world when we go, wise are the one who does not have anything of their own”, then there will not be this problem.



Meanings: Kalyug = It’s the period when Vishnu will be taking his 10th incarnation. It’s the time when Kali prevails in the world. Prasadam = Its something that you get from the temple, which has sandal, flowers and some sweets. Chandanam = Sandalwood paste. Poojaris = Priest Prathishta = Deity’s idol